St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-28
FRANK MEAD. rs FREE.
The Mead Murder Trial Closed After
Eight Days of Hard, Tireless
Fighting.
Attorney General Olapp and Senator
Davis Distinguished Themselves
in Their Arguments.
1t Takes the Jury a Little More Than
an Hour to Arrive at
Verdict.

kerQ1cI.
They Find the Prisoner Motto uilty.-
Touching Scenes in the
Court Room. 80
If ever court room was filled with a
heterogeneous crowd OF people. eloquence
and bad air. the district court room was
yesterday which was the last of the Mead
murder trial. 1t was anticipated that the
state would put on but two Or three more
witnesses, and the defense had signified its
intention on the previous evening of sub.
hitting the case as it was, and the crowd
that poured through the court house doors
and surged against the railing that kept 1t
from overwhelming the counsel was prOba-
bly, one OF the largest ever seen in court
room in this city.
Mrs. Mead, accompanied by her sister
and daughter of the prisoner, sat near her
husband throughout the day and carried in
her hands a bunch of roses and mignonettes.
Mrs Famsworth and sister of the de-
ceased occupied seats opposite the jury.
Both were dressed in deep mourning. and
during the argument of the counsel Mrs.
Farnsworth was frequently moved to tears.
The calmness that Mrs. Mead has shown
throughout the trial. as day by day she has
sat near her husband and listened to the
details of the tragedy. has. been wonderful
and evidenced determined nature and con-
fidence that the jury would lift the cloud
that hung over his head. The verdict
showed that she was correct
When the court was called to order Judge
Flandrau was placed on the stand by the
state. --------
He said that he had known Mead twenty
years and during that time his character as a
quiet and peaceabe man had been good.
w. p. Rogers, who testified to having seen
the struggle in the Merchants Oh the night of
the shooting, was recalled to the stand by the
state. and testified that ne saw no blows
struck by Farnsworth as claimed by Mead,
and said that the blows could not have been
struck without he having seen them.
Elmer Warren was recalled by the state
and said that he saw no such blows struck
before the shooting as testified to by Mead,
and that such blows could not have been
struck without he having seen them.
NJ. d. Mayhem. of Minneapolis. said he
had known Frank Farsworth for ten years
or more.
Judge Egan-What was Mr.. Farnsworths
character in regard TO peaceablenesS?
Mr.. Erwin-Objected to on the ground that
the period related to was too remote.
The objection was sustained.
Here the state rested. and Attorney
General Clapp wanted an adjournment I'M
til 2 o'clock to enable him to prepare notes
for his argument. The defense urged that
the trial go Oh, and the matter was finally
compromised by the court taking recess
until 80 o'clock.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
At 1880 o'clock sharp the sheriff raped
the great crowd of spectators to ORDER and
Attorney General Clapp took the floor.
His argument was a mastery effort, and it
lasted one hour and half. The following
excerpts were taken from his speech:
1t is sophistry, it IS fallacy to single Mead
out as the one citizen entitled to your con-
sideration 1t was told that Meads condition
would be shown you; that he was sickly;
weakened by loss OF sleep; that he tried TO
protect himself from the crushing blow OF
the deceased, who, it is claimed, assaulted
him. Gentlemen, there is but one issue in
this case, and that is for you to determine,
whether or not Mead. at the time he drew
that pistol. intended 10 kill Farms
worth. The counsel told you
that Mead was nearly q 7blind,
but it makesi no difference whether he was
blind or not. In this evidence Warren and
Erwin claim that the men on the night of the
shooting did not come together; the others
say that they did, but it is nothing singular
gentlemen, that there should be Il conflict in
this evidence. You heard men here yester-
day called by the defense to testify to the
nature and position of the wounds on Frank
Mead's head and they told stories contradic-
tory. This shows, gentlemen. how easy il is
tor men to be mistaken in the details of a
case like this. When Farnsworth spit in
Meads face, Mead would have been justified
all the laws OF human nature if he had
| struck him down with blow. If Farnsworth
did spit in his face, was that any reason why
Mead should draw this revolver and make that
woman widow and those children orphans?
! No! would to God that there was to-day an
! iDfalible test that we could bring here to
measure the truth, but there is not. God has
seen fit to allow US to grope about in the
darkness, getting what light we can find by
| our own personal efforts.
| 1t is noble thing that Mead's friends have
| come in here voluntarily to pay tribute to
| Meads character; yet this testimony goes for
| nothing. There never was a murderer in
| this world who did not commit his first MUIR
| der, his first theft, his first criminal act Can
! you say because Frank Mead two, four, five
| years ago was man of good character the
! testimony of these witnesses that Mead drew
! this pistol and killed Frank Farnsworth is not
true and has no weight
| The defense here has made an appeal to
| you for mercy, saying that it was a terrible
thing to separate Farnsworth from his fam
lily, and it would be doubly terribly to separ-
ate Mead from his family No doubt Mead
earth if he could call back from the
grave the form OF his slaughtered friend, but
this is no reparation to the widow and
orphans and society, who demand justice,
and not mercy.
Let your verdict gentlemen, be such that
| if thought ever whirls you back to this hour
you can feel that you have done Justice to
the widow and orphans.
SENATOR DAVIS SPEECH.
Following Attorney General Clapp came
Senator Davis, and a hush fell on the
throng like the stiffness of death as the
great leader in the profession of law stepped
before the jury and carefully ran his! eye
| over their faces. He began in low tone
with the following words:
The careful attention that you have paid to
! the testimony that has been given, this vast
coucourse of people can but prove to your
| mind that this Is an investigation of no ordi-
nary Importance. Years ago | stood in this
city in the old court house before jury
pleading for the life of man charged with
| the CHASTITY crime of murder. At The re-
! porters' table taking notes on the trial sat a
man still young, just entering upon life.
defeating himself to the high profession of
| journalism as | had dedicated myself to the
/ high profession Of the law. In the years that
have passed since that man has sat by my
freside, and together we have discussed the